Victorian Household Tips: The Refrigerator April, 1894
In the well ordered household special attention is accorded to the refrigerator. It is the daily family food receptacle and, as far as may be, should demonstrate the benefits of perfect cleanliness.
Subject it to a weekly scalding, preceded by a thorough investigation of all nooks and crannies by means of a sponge, a sharp pointed stick covered with a piece of linen or, if you prefer, a small brush, such as is used by the man of paint, and a scrubber for the sides. Sapolio may be employed in lessening this part of the labor, and a valuable auxiliary in dispelling disagreeable odors will be furnished by adding a tablespoonful of ammonia to each gallon of water employed in this purifying process. A simple precaution is to deposit a bit of charcoal, renewed when necessary, in the corners of the cold storage box.
At Left: An ad from a Victorian publication for a Leonard Cleanable claims to be the only refrigerator with separate compartments and movable flues.
Wash the ice from every suspicion of sawdust before consigning to its accustomed position. Some housewives reason the feasibility of wrapping it in paper, contending that so it melts less readily, and in the days of extortionate prices for the luxury their advice is certainly deserving of a measure of consideration, at least.
Nothing heated should ever be placed therein; it will tend to raise the temperature and be the means of causing other things to spoil. If you reside in a climate where a continuous use of the convenience is uncalled for, you will do well to leave it open at such times as not in requisition.
Many people bestow a generous supply of ice upon their refrigerator when it is first desired for service; they declare if once entirely cooled in this manner and conducted upon correct principles thereafter, it needs less in proportion to maintain the proper temperature.
The Victorian ad below is for a Stoneware Lined Refrigerator which reads
“It neither sweats nor absorbs moisture and never becomes sour or musty. It is made without open seams; is practically indestructible and is very easily cleaned.”
Numberless patents frequently evince no improvements, judging from practical experience; therefore, though the eye may approve of the external beauty as an article, it may be, for dining room adornment, have none of it, for it is comparatively worthless for the purpose designed. The common wooden box, zinc lined, charcoal or sawdust filled, with a waste-pipe in the bottom to conduct the water into a tub or pan underneath (in some houses it is carried directly to the drain, thus economizing time and strength), though possessing no pretentions to the aesthetic, being the least expensive, from several points of view is the most satisfactory; it is the best economizer of space, too; the wire slats with which it is provided are not only movable, but removable. It is altogether a nonpareil, though only a simple ice chest which has never been christened in honor of some notability.
An outside enclosed piazza is an excellent station for this piece of furniture, but if you have it here and there is no door which may be fastened, I advise you to consider as to the expediency of adopting the “ounce of prevention” in the shape of a padlock, if nothing better. A portion of womankind deem the putting of it in the cellar no violation of hygienic principles. Few such underground apartments are sufficiently free from dampness to ensure exemption from musty odors or mildew tainting effects, besides the added weariness incurred in going up and down the stairs is another argument against the reception of this measure.
It may, however, find a resting place in the entry at the head of the cellar stairs or in a pantry in which is a window.
Blocks laid behind the back legs are handy in keeping the refrigerator from touching the wall, so holding the Croton bug or any other unwelcome insect intruder at bay, securing the passage of air around it and allowing sufficient slant to the lid, when raised, to prevent it from falling.
Do not drop the cover carelessly with a bang, else the screws will be jarred from their sockets and often the hinges injured beyond repair.
Never, if you would keep the piece of merchandise in first-class condition, use or permit others to use the pick on the ice while within it, otherwise the zinc may be impaired and ever thereafter charcoal dust be disagreeably perceptible.
It is the part of wisdom to attack the ice previous to its deposition. In times gone by an arrangement styled a safe was in vogue for the preservation of milk, butter, eggs, etc.; this consisted of a box whose open sides, excepting top, bottom and back, were covered with a fine wire netting; it was elevated from the floor on legs sufficiently high to afford immunity from the approaches of noxious animals. A door in front allowed the ingress and egress of the viands, for which a shelf had been prepared. It usually stood in the lower hall of basement dwellings or found a refuge in the cellar.
Of course, it was quite inferior to the modern invention, but, in lieu of a better convenience, served the purpose to a certain degree of satisfaction. Its day is over and man’s ingenuity has improved upon the old-fashioned idea.